The 'National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage' has now been approved by the Union cabinet, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The mission will consist of an inter-ministerial steering committee chaired by the CEO of NITI Aayog to promote clean, connected, shared, sustainable and holistic mobility initiatives.
The national mission will finalise and implement strategies for transformative mobility and phased manufacturing programmes (PMP) for a five-year period till 2024 for electric vehicles (EVs), EV components and batteries. It will also finalise the details of PMP for the EV ecosystem and drive its implementation. The government says details of the value addition that can be achieved with each phase of localisation will be finalised by the mission with a clear ‘Make in India’ strategy for EV components as well as battery technologies.
A phased roadmap to implement battery manufacturing at a giga-scale will initially focus on large-scale module- and pack-assembly plants by 2019-20 – to be followed by integrated cell manufacturing by 2021-22. The details of the PMP for batteries shall also be formulated by the mission, which will also ensure holistic and comprehensive growth in India's battery-manufacturing industry.
The body will also coordinate with key stakeholders in ministries/departments and states to integrate various initiatives aimed at transforming mobility in India. In this regard, these actions will benefit citizens at large, as the aim of the programme is to promote ‘ease of living’ and enhance people's quality of life and also create employment opportunities through ‘Make in India’ across a range of skill sets.
The aim of the initiative is to send the industry a clear signal and make the investments needed to localise the EV value chain.
NILESH WADHWA
Rivan RS 
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Uday Singh
Suraj Viswanathan
